Newsletters

November, 2007

You greeted our last major newsletter very favourably – your several compliments such as “illuminating” and “enjoyable” oblige me to try and maintain these standards.

Our Anniversary Weekend was held over 13th-14th October and 45 people attended our Burgundy Gourmet Dinner at the Atlantic Hotel in Wimereux. As you probably recall, our guest speaker was Monsieur Paul Bouchard who with his wife Ursula came especially from Beaune to be with us on our special weekend. It was also the evening that England played, and beat, France in the Rugby –altogether a memorable evening. One of the compliments from the dinner read: “Of course the high spot was the dinner on Saturday, with a delicious menu and fine selection of wines, much enhanced by M. Bouchard's enthusiastic and fascinating commentary.” (TM)

The trouble with such great occasions is that one is then asked when and where the next event is to be and of course it is neither quick nor easy to organise these major events. Since that time, I have been talking with a major hotel outside Saint-Omer but have been forced to conclude that, as a package, our clients would not receive good enough value, so reluctantly I have had to change tack. So, with Christmas coming up I thought it might be fun to change the formula a little and to host an informal lunch in Ardres on the day that this historic town holds its Christmas market. At Christmas the pretty town square comes alive with stalls and attractions in the traditional European style, and this year Ardres has managed to attract additional funding from Calais' Chamber of Commerce, so it should be a good event. New visitors to Ardres are always amazed by the “Frenchness” of this quaint characterful backwater, a million miles away in style from the UK or the concrete jungle of Calais.

Therefore our next event will be Lunch at the Hotel Clément on Sunday 9th December – a place which has often been described as “charismatic” as well as “quirky”! But the cuisine is of good quality and we will of course be providing a selection of good wines to accompany the various courses. The price will be 45 euros (about £31) per person to include all food, all wines, water and coffee: nothing further to pay. Unless I can find some passing wine celebrity, I shall be talking briefly about the wines as they are served.

For those who'd like to stay a night or two, there are plenty of rooms available in the area – I suggest that you let us know your requirements and we can co-ordinate bookings for you. Prices are around just 50 euros per room (yes, it's true!). But I suggest act quickly if you'd like to stay as inevitably with the Christmas Market, the area's rooms will fill up quickly.

In addition, in our shop we will also stage a small tasting of wines suitable for Christmas and general winter drinking. It will be a low-key weekend of pre-Christmas fun at low cost.

Please let us know by e-mail how many tickets you would like for Sunday Lunch on the 9th December so that we can hold your places for you.

During the Anniversary Dinner there was a favourable reaction to my suggestion of a dinner in a vineyard area so, as a first, I plan to run a dinner in the Champagne area next Spring. Clearly we would also make a couple of private visits to Champagne houses. I will send you more details just as soon as I can.

Turning to “other matters”, I never cease to be astounded by the frequency with which “authoritative” reports published in the media are swiftly rebuffed from another equally impressive sounding source. One presumes that there are disparate lobby groups at work, especially in the world of wine (or alcohol in a larger context). Rather than wade into the perennial chatter, I quote below from an article I wrote about a year ago for Winedrive pointing out some of the proven health benefits that can be obtained from sensible and moderate enjoyment of wine.

“Centuries' worth of anecdotal claims are now backed up by an enormous amount of scientific research. It was in the 1990s that researchers examined the fundamental question as to why the French, who consumed 30% more fat than the Americans, had 40% fewer heart attacks. The results were startling, and have been retested time after time, but the answer always comes back the same: a moderate intake of wine on a daily basis benefits health. Some researchers even suggested that it was safer to drink wine than not.

Red wine was singled out as being the most efficient provider of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Powerful antioxidants in the grape skins can lessen blood clotting as well as reduce coronary heart disease and reduce tension, while the proteins are claimed to combat certain cancers such as ovarian cancer.

Heart attacks and osteoporosis in women can be reduced by 25% by one glass of red wine per day. Wine is also known to stimulate appetite, reduce stress, aid digestion, strengthen bones and combat both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Meanwhile, white wine has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties and can improve blood circulation.

Having said all this, we do need to consider how we are drinking alcohol. It is not advisable to drink more than two glasses per day on a regular basis as other problems such as psychological and liver damage could develop. In France and Italy, wine is very much a part of daily life and is normally consumed with food, which calls to mind Saint Paul's reputed words of wisdom: “A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine”.

Food lessens the chances of potential damage and I was intrigued to see recent comparative tests on television between two drinkers: one French and one British. Their physical attributes and backgrounds were almost identical, but the former was drinking in his customary way with food, while the Brit was drinking in his customary way, without food. Each consumed an identical number of alcohol units, but the measured effect on the Frenchman was minimal whilst the Brit was considered to be 'unsafe'.

As with so many things in life, the simpler ingredients can provide the maximum pleasure and benefit and I would always advocate choosing 'hand-crafted' wines in preference to those brands produced in industrial quantities. These wines need not be more expensive, but they do require you to follow the advice of someone who knows about wine. The supermarket phenomenon over the last 25 years has been useful in introducing wine to a broad customer base, but in terms of the quest for real pleasure, I believe it is necessary to go 'off-piste', follow advice and experiment a little.”

Boursot's Wine Collection was fortunate enough to be recommended on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans “Drivetime” show a couple of weeks ago and whilst such mentions do not have easily measurable benefits on sales, we will shortly be embarking on further promotional activity to get our message home to a wider audience. And of course, if you are happy with what you have experienced here, please tell your friends: we are a small company and are grateful for all the help you can give.

Our November 2007 Wine List is available on this link. Currently we are maintaining our Special Offer on the Montirius Rosé (reduced from £6.75 to £3.75 and, no, it's not one of those funny deals described in our August newsletter!). We still have stocks remaining.

We are in our busy season right now, so I apologise for the slightly abbreviated nature of this newsletter. I am aware that I am postponing my anticipated report on the EU's progress on its wine reforms, but should be able to complete this soon and get it to you next time.

I hope to see you here before Christmas?

With all best wishes

Guy

Guy Boursot
Wine Consultants SARL
Boursot's Wine Collection
9 Rue de l'Arsenal
62610 ARDRES
+33 3 21 36 81 46
www.boursot.co.uk